In November 2021, I felt a pain radiating from my back to my arm. I took Tylenol and shrugged it off, thinking it would go away. That's when I felt a lump in my breast and went to the ER. I thought it was just an abscess that needed to be drained since I've had one before. The doctor let me know that it was a cyst and they are common for women my age. Something wasn't right, and the nurse in the ER agreed. Through this process, I was working full-time, and it was the holiday season.

Imagine having to keep the secret from your family until the testing was complete. It was hard to because I felt like I was failing them once I was diagnosed. On December 21, 2021, I found out through a notification at work that I had breast cancer. It was surreal, and at that moment, my life changed dramatically.

Chemotherapy started immediately after the holidays and lasted until June 18.

I celebrated my 30th birthday and my last chemo session. I never shed a tear about my situation, and if you know me, I was always smiling. I was absolutely scared. In July, I had a 4-hour surgery that would change my life. I had a Double Mastectomy and opted for no reconstruction. After surgery, I thought everything was done and I could move on.

Nope, first my lymph node had some micrometastasis, which meant back into surgery. Then, the pathology came back with a unique situation.

My right breast was diagnosed with ER+ PR+ HER2-, but the left breast was diagnosed with ER+ PR- HER2+. This is very rare, and with my BRCA 2 gene, it made things complicated. I had to do treatment for another year. In between, I had an oophorectomy, which put me into surgical menopause. At 31 years old, I'm in menopause before most of the women in my family. My story does continue and will never be the same.